Before his death this morning, things had been looking up for Duncan: his temperature and blood pressure had returned to normal levels, and the diarrhea associated with Ebola had waned, says the New York Times. A few days ago, Duncan had been put on an experimental broad-spectrum antiviral medication, says Time.

Though Ebola is still overwhelmingly an issue for West African nations, it does appear to be spreading within western nations. In Spain, says the BBC, investigations are ongoing to figure out how a Spanish nurse contracted the disease—the first time the disease has ever been seen to spread outside of Africa.

If Ebola continues to spread—though a widespread outbreak of the disease in the West remains incredibly low—the total impact of the disease could push as high as $32.6 billion dollars by next year, according to a new estimate by the World Bank. CTV:

It is far from certain that the epidemic will be contained by the end of the year, so the report estimated the economic costs of two scenarios as the battle against the disease continues. The report estimated that the economic impact could top $9 billion if the disease is rapidly contained in the three most severely affected countries, but could reach $32.6 billion if it takes a long time to contain Ebola in the three countries and it spreads to neighboring nations.

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About Colin Schultz

Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He blogs for Smart News and contributes to the American Geophysical Union. He has a B.Sc. in physical science and philosophy, and a M.A. in journalism.

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